Filler opening for containers



p 2 E. H. BENSON 2,612,285

' FILLER OPENING FOR CONTAINERS Filed March 6, 1950 -mnllllllm //A' //il//7////////////////////////// Q ZZZ Patented Sept. 30, 1952 UNITED FILLER Oi ENiNG FOR-communes- T I '-s'riiesr-rfiiielisanjKansas 'eitygMoaf v 'ApiilieatiomMa -ch 6',1950, 'SeriaPNo; 147,811- v The present invention relatesriin generalfto sealing. sMoreoverpthe s iiliiec'tft'o' scoring-,denting or deformation as a result of the filler openings for drums; barrels casks and-analogous vessels, and it deals more particularly with an improved filler openingror spout-for vessels constructed of aluminum or similar light metal.

Containers co'nstructed ofsuch 'material'haVe v inner surfaces of the container andall' appur- 1 tenant surfaces which come-into contact with the liquid should Ice-formed of thesame chemically inert metal, and it is an important object of the present invention to provide a filler opening whose liquid-engaging:surfacesatisfies these requirements;

More particularly it is 'anobject of the invention to provide a filler opening-having a neck to receive a removable closure 051),"13116' neck beinglined withrelatively light; soft'vm'etal such as aluminumyet being mechanically strong-"aand protected against injury such as might otherwise occur, for example, through the alternate tightening and loosening of the cap'innormal service.

To this end the invention contemplates the provision of (1) a neck-type filler opening-or spout integral with the body ofthe container and made of the same material, and (29- a reinforcing collar of relatively stronger; wear resistar-it material closely encircling-theneck the collar being externally threaded to receivel the closure cap, or the cap and collarhaving-othersuitableintermeshing elements for drawing the cap-into closing relation with the neck.- Because of thetorque and other stresses imposed uponthe-collar in the course of tightening and' loosening the cap, an important feature .resides- 'in the structural arrangement for securely anchoring thecollar to the neck. I 7

It is sometimes found-that where :theupper edges of aneck-type filleropening are ofsoft metal, the gasket of ascreW eap -used to; close the opening will, over a period of-timacause sufiicient abrasive weanon those edges to prevent proper:

insertion-of a funnel, hose or noa zlein the 0 se of filling or; draining the containeii." Ac A 1y, a furtherobject of the' -invention 31 to provide a filler opening having its upperedes and "a "a; centinner surfaces" protected fro'm stash-ea sr and'other damage incident to normal use of container/ A feature in this connect'ionintheprovision of a -wearresistant; facingand lining member for thefiller opening.

Other and further objects of my gether with theieatures of novelty will appear in the course oi thefollowingdescriptirgn u Inthe accompanying drawingswhichfforrn a part of thespecification-andqareto read in conjunction therewith, and in l which like reie ence numeralsare employed to identify like parts of the various views:

Fi 1 is a mam-view of nuel' pem gi I m rumor-n1 e- :ves ;sea1ed with-a Sc e-wi.

cap", only a fragmentaryportion'of afv ssel wall bein sh wn, s -V v r. Fig. 2 is a cross section taken-alongthe line 2-2 :of Fig.- 1 in the direction ot the arrows, Fig. 3 a perspective f view; of the filleropening orspout with the cap removed; and f I A Fig. 4 is across section similar-to Fig. 2- s'how-' ing a modifiedformeithe -invention.

Referring more particularly to Figs. -1 M numeral I'll identifies a small section oiythe wal of a drum; barrel, cask or the like, this wall preierably being-madeof aluminum. or other;light metal which is chemically inert to the ;rnaterial to be stored or shipped in the vessel: ;A- p1ate-l2 formedvofsimilar -materiajl is set into; an openij inthe wall 'Hl and-we lded.; to the wall about its marginas shownat. 13.; This;plate-' has an turned annular flange-or neck M forming a filler openingor spout-l5 for the vessel. I w Aroundthe'neck and snuglyaem is "an'externally thre adedrrig larl6 made'of stainless steel orpth hard; wear resistant materiafThe liotto collar; abuts against the star IZ-andthe collar is held against a'xial 1;; on the neck by a out-turned annular l jecting radially from the enact free a recess or rabbet T9 fortified" rm transcend of the collar. V I

c'ont stiasart1dsuretap '2 the filler} opening; Jthi'sfhaiimg inter 11y threaded flar tl'g'e- 2T saaptato mesh with the eternal threads" on 'the" collar "I 6'. v th pf v a gasket-'22 whichseats gar-newness re-as aoiaass 9 shown in Fig. 3 and seals the opening when the cap is tightened down. The gasket material preferably is slightly compressible and it will be noted that the cap and neck are formed to provide a small space 23 around the margin of the gasket to accommodate flow of the gasket material when compressed against the lip,

Alternate tightening and loosening of the cap (for example, by means of a wrench) in the course of the normal use of the-vessel subjects the collar to considerable. torque. this, the bottom of the collar isnotched as shown at 24, and bosses 25 formed in the vessel extend In view of y into these notchesto secure the collar againstrotation on the neck as the cap is tightened or loosened. It will be noted that the bosses are situated at the juncture of the neck I4 and'plate l2, being so inclined as to permit free discharge I of the contents of the vessel into opening I5 when the vessel is inverted.

The parts may be fabricated in any desired manner, but it has, been found most convenient to attach-collar I6 to the neck before plate I2 is inserted in the wall I0 and welded about its margin. Preferably neck I4 and bosses am formed in the plate by a preliminary power press operation; "the threaded and notched collar next is slipped over the neck and anchored by spinning or pressing the endof the neck outwardly over the end of the collar as-shown. This assembly then is welded into the wall of the vessel as indicated at I3.

'It can readily be seen that my filler opening embodies *several important advantages. First, it providesa spout which avoids spillage in pouring and is desirable in a container for heavy liquids or chemicals. It is closed by a screw-on cap which is convenient to use and which provides in connection with the'compre'ssion of the gasket against the lip I8 a more effective means 'of sealing the opening. The collar I6 reinforces and protects the soft metal flange I4 against deformation and provides suitable surface for threadswhich cannot easily be stripped by tightening of the cap. Finally, the construction provides a spout sub-assembly which can easily be inserted in and welded to the body wall of a barrel or the like, providing therein a filler opening which is capable of withstanding the wear and rough handling of normal usage but whose inner contact surfaces are of the same material as the body of the barrel, thereby preventing contamination of the contained liquid.

The modification of my invention shown in Fig. 4"embodies a construction that is fundamentally like that described above except that the lip I8 iscovered and protected by a relatively thin facing ring 2'! of stainless steel or like material. The outer edge of the facing ring is turned down and clamped between the outer margin of the lip I8 and the vertical wall of the recess or rabbet I9; the inner portion of the ring is pressed axially inward along the bore of the spout M which is provided with a shallow annular groove 28 into which the edge of the facing material is pressed. The facing member thus is securely anchored along both edges and protectsthe upper surfaces of the spout, not only against abrasive wear caused by rubbing of the gasket in the course of tightening and loosening the cap, but also against denting, deformation or scoring as might otherwise be caused by insertion of funnels, nozzles and like devices in the course of filling or draining the container;

F'rom the foregoing it will be seen that my in- 4 vention is well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinbefore set forth, together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the invention.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.

.' Inasmuch as many possible embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I-Iavi'ng thus described my invention, I claim:

. J v1. In an article of the character described, a I wall having an opening therethrough with an integral outwardly extending annular flange encircling the opening, a concentric collar encircling and closely circumscribing the flange and having one end seated against said wall, a radial lip on the outer extremity of said annular flange overlaying and abutting the opposite end of said collar, an annulus of thin facing material covering said lip, said annulus having its outer margin secured between said lip and collar and its inner margin turned axially inward to hug the bore of said annular flange, a closure cap adapted to be positioned against said facing material,

and intermeshing elements on said cap and collar for drawing said cap tightly against said facing material responsive to rotation of the cap relative to the collar..

2. An article as in claim 1 wherein said facing material is relatively harder'than the material forming said annular flange.

3. An article as in claim 1 wherein the bore of said annular flangecontains a peripheral groove spaced intermediate'the ends of the flange, and the inner edge of said annulus of facing material is seated in said groove.

4. In an article of the character described, a wall having an opening therethrough with an integral outwardly extending annular flange encircling said opening, a concentric collar encircling and closely circumscribing said flange, one end of the collar bein seated against said wall and the other end having a circumferential rabbet at the juncture of said other end and the bore of the collar, the outermost end of said annular flange having a lip projecting radially into said rabbet to secure said collar against axial movement away from said wall, a sleeve of thin material lining the bore of said annular flange at least at the outer end thereof, said sleeve having a portion turned radially outward over said lip to form an annular facing therefor with a marginal portion turned inwardly over the v marginal edge of the lip and extending into said rabbet, said last portion being clamped between the marginal edge of said lip and the inner edge of the rabbet to anchor'said sleeve.

5. An article as in claim 4 wherein said sleeve is formed ofmaterial relatively harder than the material forming said flange.

6. In an article of the-character described, a wall having an opening therethrough with an integral outwardly extending annular flange en. circling said opening, a concentric collar en-' circling and closely circumscribing said flange, one end of the'collar being seated against said wall and the other end having a circumferential rabbet at the juncture of said other end and the bore of thecollar, the outermost end of said annular flange having a lip projecting radially into said rabbet to secure said collar against axial movement away from said wall, the bore of said.

into said rabbet, said last portion being clamped between the marginal edge of said lip and the inner edge of the rabbet to anchor said sleeve.

7. In an article of the character described, a a

wall having an opening therethrough with an-integral outwardly extending annular flange encircling said opening, a concentric collar encircling and closely circumscribing said flange, one end of said collar being seated against said wall, the outermost end of said annular flange having a lip projecting radially over the other end of said collar to secure the collar against axial movement away from said wall, the bore of said flange having an annular groove intermediate the ends of said bore, a sleeve of thin material lining the portion of said bore between said groove and the outer end of the bore, said sleeve having at one end an outturned rim seated in said groove, the other end of said sleeve having an integral portion turned radially outward over said lip to form an annular facing therefor with a marginal portion turned inwardly over the marginal edge of the lip and clamped between the lip and the outermost end of said collar thereby to anchor said sleeve.

8. An article as in claim 7 wherein said sleeve is formed of material relatively harder than the material forming said flange.

ERNEST H. BENSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,234,084 Rauh Mar. 4, 1941 2,267,754 Schroeder Dec. 30, 1941 2,290,619 Rieger July 21, 1942 

